Galaxy88 vs Galactic Chess Invaders
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Galaxy88
Engage in classic arcade-style space combat, shooting down alien invaders. This game offers three difficulty levels and intuitive one-handed controls, perfect for on-the-go play. Compete for high scores and master its bonus scoring system.
- Alien invasion gameplay
- Three difficulty levels
- Retro 8-bit pixel art
- One-handed swipe and tap controls
- Game Center high score competition
- Bonus scoring system
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Shoot down waves of alien invaders from space! Enemies attack in formation, diving and swooping in classic arcade style. Simple to pick up, hard to master. ■ 3 Difficulty Levels - Easy: Perfect for casual players - Hard: A real challenge for experienced gamers - Expert: 4 bosses, 1.2x bullet speed — only for the brave ■ Controls - Swipe: Move your ship left and right - Tap: Fire your weapon Easy one-handed controls for gaming on the go! ■ Features - Retro 8-bit pixel art graphics - Compete for high scores on Game Center - Bonus scoring system — destroy boss escorts for massive points
Galactic Chess Invaders
This game blends arcade-style shooting with real chess mechanics. Players control both White's chess pieces and a laser ship simultaneously, facing waves of descending black pieces that shoot back. Each level introduces new challenges and power-ups, making it accessible even for non-chess players.
- Real chess engine with legal moves
- Simultaneous arcade shooter gameplay
- Ten unique levels with distinct mechanics
- Power-ups like rapid fire and nukes
- Cadet and standard difficulty modes
- Original soundtrack and arcade audio
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A real game of chess plays out on screen — legal moves, real check and checkmate, a live engine playing Black. Except Black's pieces are also a fleet, sweeping sideways, dropping a rank at a time, and shooting at you. You play both halves at once. The mouse commands White's pieces. The keyboard flies a laser ship along the bottom of the board. A five-second clock runs on every move. Reflex decides whether you survive; the chess decides what you are surviving against. The two halves are genuinely entangled. Shoot a black piece and it leaves the chess position. Let one descend onto your rook and the rook is gone. Checkmate the black king to clear the wave — or just shoot it. Walk a pawn to the eighth rank and you promote it and upgrade your guns at the same time, which is the one moment the game asks you to do both jobs in the same second. TEN WAVES, TEN IDEAS Each level introduces a mechanic rather than a difficulty multiplier. Pawns start shooting back. Black takes two chess moves a turn, then three. The fleet's sweep widens. Bishops open fire along the diagonal. Regenerated pawns arrive armoured and shrug off lasers. The black king raises a forcefield and draws a weapon of its own. Then Blitz — the last wave, which takes most of your advantages away and drops the clock to three seconds. POWER-UPS Shoot the green scouts that drift across the board and you will pick up rapid fire, a gatling burst, a shield, a freeze, or a nuke. Your laser cap rises as you go and resets with each wave. MADE FOR GAMERS, NOT CHESS PLAYERS You do not need to be good at chess. If you pick a piece it will show the legal moves. The engine plays fast and shallow on purpose, the clock is short enough that nobody is calculating, and Cadet mode gives you a longer clock, a slower pace, five lives and power-ups that carry between levels. WHAT ELSE IS IN THERE • Ten levels, each with a distinct mechanic • Cadet and standard difficulty • An original soundtrack — a track per level, escalating with the waves • Full arcade audio from Zudio • A board grid you can dial from open space up to named rows and columns • A nebula backdrop that deepens as the waves get harder, or switch it off • Local high score table • Universal binary, native on Apple Silicon and Intel • No ads, no in-app purchases, no accounts, no data collected FORTY YEARS IN THE MAKING The first version was written in 1983 on an Apple II, in Applesoft BASIC using the TASC compiler to make it fast enough to be playable. This is that game, rebooted, refueled and remade for the modern era.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Galactic Chess Invaders at 5.0 against Galaxy88's 3.3. Galactic Chess Invaders also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 days vs monthly). Galaxy88's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Galactic Chess Invaders holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 5 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Galaxy88 ships an update monthly, Galactic Chess Invaders every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Galaxy88 | Galactic Chess Invaders |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 5 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 93 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | TAKASHI HANABE | Zack Urlocker |
Customer experience
Galaxy88
Galactic Chess Invaders
In-app purchases
Galaxy88
No in-app purchases
Galactic Chess Invaders
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Galaxy88 free?
Is Galactic Chess Invaders free?
Which has better reviews, Galaxy88 or Galactic Chess Invaders?
Do Galaxy88 or Galactic Chess Invaders have ads?
Which is updated more often, Galaxy88 or Galactic Chess Invaders?
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